LOUIS BREWSTER on MOTORSPORTS: Flanders again lends his voice to Long Beach Grand Prix festivities

Bruce Flanders - perhaps the most recognizable motorsports voice in Southern California - will be back on duty this weekend at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, with the same goal in mind.

"Public address announcers are to entertain the fans," said Flanders, who has been part of the Long Beach festivities for 36 of the 39 years. "I'm speaking to the person there for the first time, who got tickets from his boss.

"That's who I'm trying to convert."

The 67-year-old Flanders has won more than his fair share of converts. He's been calling events since 1969.

"Several years ago, I met a doctor in Riverside," said Flanders, who has been diagnosed with COPD since 2008. "I introduced myself and he said he recognized me by my voice. 'I first heard you when my dad took me to Costa Mesa (speedway bikes) when I was 12,'he said."

Flanders, a Vietnam veteran, once worked 104 racing events in a year (with the winter months off). In addition to Long Beach, Flanders can also be heard this year at Irwindale Speedway, Pirate Speedway in San Bernardino and City of Industry speedway bikes.

Calling the action at Long Beach is unique. Because of the numerous large screens around the city course, he's describing the race for those who can view the screens.

"Basically calling a TV show for a live audience," he said. "It wasn't always that way. I didn't get my first TV monitor until the early 1980 s.

"That changed the way we announced."

Flanders, whose sense of humor is as legendary as his voice, has overcome COPD through physical activity. At one point, his future looked bleak, but he's now a testamental to his work ethic.

"My oxgyen provider (Inogenone) has given me added mobility," said Flanders, who will be on the mike for more than 36 hours in three days. "I'm looking forward to the weekend."

France sets standard

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Brad Keselowski ripped into the sanctioning body after Saturday's race in Texas, saying Penske Racing was unfairly targeted. In light of the fine against Denny Hamlin earlier in the season, many expected the same for the defending champion.

No so fast, said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, who said there would be no fine.

"That's the beauty of NASCAR - we do allow the drivers to express themselves in that way, even if they say things that we would disagree with," France told Fox Business network. "And I would certainly disagree with everything that he said.

"The line that we draw is that you can't criticize the racing product. You can criticize our decisions, you can criticize everything else, which is more than any other sport might allow. But just don't go talking about our racing product isn't the best in the world, because it is."

IndyCar notes

Dario Franchitti, a four-time IndyCar champion, will make his 250 th start at Long Beach. He's won 31 races (including three at the Indinaopolis 500) and finished second 29 other times in 15-plus seasons. Mario Andretti holds the record at 407 starts. ...

Mike Conway was a surprise winner in 2011 and will be back in action this weekend. He's in a one-off race for Rhal Letterman Lanigan Racing. ...

Will Power is the defending champ. In IndyCar, just Andretti, Sebastien Bourdias (a three-time winner), Paul Tracy, Al Unser Jr. and Alex Zanardi have scored consecutive wins at Long Beach. ...

Marco Andretti, Mario's grandson, has a pair of top-10 finishes this year. With two top-five finishes in three starts, he appears to be in line to extend his family's mastery on the streets. Mario and Michael, his father, have accounted for five wins.

Local news

Pirate Speedway, formerly known as IMS Speedway in San Bernardino, opens its 2013 season Friday night with Larry Huffman announcing speedway motorcycles and two-person speedway sidecars. Racing begins at 8 p.m. ... Perris Auto Speedway will host the second round PASSCAR Stock Car Championship Series, with a $1,000 American Factory Stocks, Modifieds, Super Stocks, Sport Mods and the CDCRA Dwarf Cars. ... Les Richter, who helped Roger Penske construct California Speedway and was general manager at Riverside International Raceway, has been renominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2014. ... NHRA Super Gas racer Derek Sanchez, from Yuma, Ariz., passed away April 11, five days after a high-speed crash at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ... Thursday Night Drag Racing at Irwindale Speedway, with a cost of $20 per vehicle and $10 to watch the action from 5 to 10 p.m.